Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif believes that Virat Kohli’s move to retire from Tests might have stemmed from internal talks with the BCCI. The ex-Indian captain took everyone by surprise earlier this week by following Rohit Sharma’s footsteps in stepping away from the longest format of the game. India cricket team will now head into the new WTC cycle without the services of the veteran duo of Ro-Ko.
BCCI behind Kohli’s retirement?
Speaking to news agency IANS, Kaif opined that the selectors might have cited his recent form to tell him that he no longer had a place in the team. He reckoned that Kohli might have been forced to make the decision since he did not get the support from the BCCI that he thought he would. Kaif added that one would never get to know what exactly led to Virat calling it a day from Tests.
“I think he wanted to continue in the format. There must have been some internal talks with the BCCI, the selectors may have cited his form in the past 5-6 years and told him his spot in the team may no longer be there. We will never find out what happened, it is very difficult to guess what actually took place behind the scenes,” said Kaif.
Further, Kaif claimed that Kohli surely had plans to return to Tests, especially in the series against England. He cited the veteran’s last-miniute decision to play Ranji Trophy earlier this year to justify his opinion.
“But given the last-minute decision, having played the Ranji trophy, I definitely think he wanted to come back in the upcoming Tests. The developments in the last few weeks, he may not have gotten the support he thought he will get from BCCI and selectors which he may not have gotten,” Kaif added.
“He looked in a hurry”
Commenting on Virat’s recent form, Kaif claimed that he looked like he was in a hurry to score runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Maybe he was thinking ‘I am in the last phase of my career what’s the point of scoring a gritty century, there used to be a different level of patience on display from him before, he used to leave the balls, take his time, tire the bowlers and then took them down but I did not see that from him in Australia,” he added.
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